Plumbing

I keep my trash bins in the backyard. I have to walk them past the sprinkler valve boxes and this past week as I did my duty I noticed that the ground was a bit marshy. That is not the way it is supposed to look. After a quit investigation I determined that a pipe must have broken underneath the valves. Water to the sprinklers comes before water to the house in the construction design. I wasn’t thrilled.

After shutting off the water at the meter, I bailed out the valve box. I was “on the clock” with the family because no one could use water until I finished the project. I am not known for my plumbing prowess!

I dug everything out and found the problem. It was down about 18” which meant I’d be reaching into a hole all day until it was fixed. I took a trip to the local Home Depot and got the requisite parts. I even had enough foresight to grab a couple of parts for redundancy. As I was walking in, I saw a former student and her family. We shared a friendly exchange and went about our business.

Cut to a few hours later when my pipes blew apart. I’m back at Home Depot getting more supplies. As I’m walking out, I see my friend again. I guess neither of us got it right the first time!

Suffice to say, after spending a bit more time and doing things more properly I was able to turn the water back on. Things are always going to break. But anything that breaks can usually be fixed or replaced if you take your time. Now I can clean up, because I took the time to…

— Rise Up!!